The Girl with the Flameing Hair
by Foxgirl113
Summary: Melody Matthus was not your everyday 15 year old girl. So when the Zed struck she knew exactly what to do. her parents are dead and all she has left is her brother. follow Melody as she journeys through pain, suffering, enlightenment, and love,and explores what its like to be a brave teenage girl even if the apocalypse is happening around her. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

AN: this is my very first upload. Please be as critical as you can in the comments section, so I can better improve my writing skills. Also it would be so much appreciated if you comment suggestions! Thank you so much for finding interest in my story! ENJOY!

"What the hell?"AJ said as he looked out of the window in our apartment on the 3rd floor. "what is it?" I ask wondering what got him off of the god forsaken couch. "Melody, the day dad talked about is here. Doomsday is here." He said with fear in his eyes.

"Shit."I say and we both immediately hop into action. I go into my room and grab a few photos of dad and mom (and 1 of AJ, but I will never tell him that I love him. That turd is mean as hell.) Then I walk into my closet and grab the bug out bag dad always made sure we had. I throw it on my bed and open it making sure all of the things I need are inside. 4 days worth of summer and winter clothes, 13 days worth of emergency rations, a fire blanket, a first aid kit, feminine products, toiletries, and pony tail holders.

"What was outside of the window AJ?"I asked, a little worried that my 19 year old brother was scared. "Zombies, Melody, There are Zed outside." he replied sounding shaken. That's the thing he was most afraid of. Even if he didn't want me to think he was afraid of anything, I knew. "Fuck" I said under my breath. "Do you have everything?" I ask, we need to get the hell out of the city. "Yea, we need to get to the gun case and…." I froze when I heard a horrid scream as one of my neighbors was eaten alive. "Melody, we are leaving the city. Now!" he whisper screamed. "Grab the guns and ammo you need. I will get the keys and meet you over there." I said as I finished lacing up my black combat boots. Then I grabbed my bag buckled it on. I quietly walked out of my room saying goodbye. Hoping I can come back one day.

As I walk to the key bowl I tie my long, red, freakishly curly hair into a pony tail. I grab the keys to the Razor and then walk into my dad's old room. I see AJ in front of the open gun case. He hands my favorite .22 to me. I then strap it to my left thigh."Turn around, I am going to put 2 boxes of .22 ammo in your bag." I immediately turn around. Ten seconds later I have a knife on my right hip as AJ zips my bag back up." You take the rifle, you're a better shot." I say to him. Once we are both geared up, we go to the window that leads to the fire escape and climb out of it."Oh my fucking god." I say seeing the damage to the city the first time. It's horrible, the smell of death is in the air and there are zombies everywhere. The building next to ours is on fire and screaming can be heard all over the city."Hey. You are only 15; do you really think its okay to be swearing?" AJ said in his 'dad' tone. "Yeah, I know."I say, actually disappointed in myself.

"Okay, here's the plan, we are going to make our way down the fire escape and into the parking garage across the street. Then we go up the 5 stories of stairs and get to the trailer. You unlock it and get in, you are driving and I am guarding. We will head for the cabin, out in the woods." AJ said, strategizing the plan in his head."Alright, which woods are we going to?"I ask, we have like 3 cabins." The one by that ranch or farm or whatever." He said "sounds good, let's go."I pointed for him to take the lead. We worked our way down quietly. When we got to the ground we were in an ally way."I got your six, roll out." I say, our dad always told us to talk that way. He was in the military and he was a HUGE conspiracy theorist. I'm glad he tock care of us. I miss him like crazy. Anyway time to do or die. AJ nodded his head and started crouch walking along the wall. I copied his moves and crouch walked along the wall. When we reached the street AJ held up his fist signaling to hold your place. I crouched lower to the ground while he looked around. The zed filled the street. He found an opening and pointed with his two fingers to the opening in the parking garage. We then crouch ran to the opening not being seen by any of those…..things. We then continued into the garage. That's when we heard a moan not 10 yards away from us. My brother looked up, terrified. Like he wanted to do something but couldn't, like he was fighting his inner demon, because we all have one. At that moment I knew I had to lead, at least for a little while. I straightned all the way up and swiftly walked past his frozen body. I had to be brave, just like daddy always said.

The zombie was snarled at me as if I was his food….oh wait, I am. I use myleft leg and knock its feet out from under it and stab it in the head. Just like daddy taught me. I turned to my brother, who stared, horrified and told him"Get up! You will not. Die . today." He nodded hearing what I said to him and he started following me as I got low once again. Finally making it to the stairwell, we practically run up the stairs trying to be as quiet as possible. We made it to the 5th floor and I opened the door. We walked through it and stood there listening for and zed on the floor. It didn't sound like it to me. I looked at AJ. He shook his head. We were still cautious but we were able to move faster.

Once we made it to our trailer AJ got into a position where he was guarded. I made my way around the side where the door to the trailer was. I took the keys out of my pocket and unlocked the door. I climbed inside the dusty old trailer that had been sitting here for around 8 months. Then I made sure that the 30 gallons of extra fuel were secure then I stood back and looked at the beauty for a second. She was a heavy duty razor, she could go up to 90 MPH and she had 2 seats. There was room for our cargo in the back I quickly stripped myself from my back pack and tied it onto the Razor. I made sure I was ready, and I was about to open the wide trailer door when I heard my brother from the other end of the trailer say "Its getting dark, I really think we should stay here for the night . Besides it will give us time to get the extra stuff packed for tomorrow." Sure enough when I look at my solar powered watch it says 9:34 p.m. I look up at my brother and say "alright, shut the door and turn on the lantern." He does exactly that. I had forgotten about the extra supplies in here. I remove my bag from the Razor. And set a package of water bottles up there and on top of that, I lay a thin box full of army rations. About 20 day's worth for me and my brother both. Then I stick a compact tent up there and two compact sleeping bags.

I then grab the survival kit, inside is things to fish, sew, and heal with. The box is about the size of an open laptop. I set that on the razor and strap everything in. AJ hands me his bag as I finish strapping mine to the ceiling with the quick release mechanism. I walk around the vehicle and lean over the net to do the same with his. I sigh just as I finish. "We should get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."AJ said as he lay down on the very uncomfortable floor."Every day from now on will be a long day." I say already exhausted. I know I said I wouldn't say it, but it's the end of the world. "I love you, bubba."I say drifting off to sleep. "I love you too, Munchkin." he replied. Then I was asleep.

AN: Thank you so much for reading! I will try to post regularly, but I am super lazy so we will see how it goes. I enjoyed writing this. So please leave any suggestions in the comments. Also I know there was no TWD members in it, and just the OC's were, but keep in mind that this is the first chapter and I will be telling the whole story from Melody's POV. I.e. she hasn't met the gang yet.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I'm sorry for all of my spelling errors. I will try to fix as many as I can. Also I am going to try to make the chapters longer. Like, around 3000 words? Yea I think that's good!

I woke up to the sound off rustling, AJ was moving around in his sleep. What time is it? I look at my watch, 5:47. We need to leave in like2 hours, I try falling back asleep, but that doesn't work out like I wanted it to. I sigh, and then I stand up. I walk as quietly as I can over to the driver side of the razor, and I unbuckle the net on the razor and slide into the driver seat. I buckle the net back up, and lay my head back on the head rest. I sit there awhile, wondering if I will stay sane on this journey. I shrug, probably not.

I look up at my bag hanging above me, and start to unzip the front pocket and slide a picture out of the pocket. I stare at the picture of my father. God I miss him so much. I hate the military. Daddy, why did you have to go? I felt a tear slip down my right cheek, and quickly wiped it away.

I will be brave just like dad said I was. Then I heard AJ yawn, okay guess he is getting up to."Damn it." I heard him say, and he sounded pretty angry."What?"I ask, Curious about what set him off so early. He turned to me and said "It wasn't a dream."

"Yea, I know."I say as I slide the picture back into the pocket and zip it back up.

"How long have you been up?" My brother asks me. I look at my watch, 6:03, I reply "About fifteen minutes. Why?""Just wondering, what time is it?"He asks me."6:03"" okay, get ready to leave. The sun is coming up soon." AJ tells me. "Alrighty." I say.

I then look down at myself. I still have my pistol strapped to my left thigh, and the knife was still on my right hip. I'm wearing jeans and a black t-shirt that says 'Keep Calm and carry on' wow. Of course I would wear this shirt the day the zombie apocalypse happened. I then look back up at my brother and say "Ready."

He looks at me, his face says' ha ha, very funny' and I chuckle.

"We need to go outside and make sure no zed are around." AJ says, I nod and unbuckle the net on the Razor and sliding out of the seat. I leave the net down. We walk over the small door of the trailer and listen for any movement.

Just like yesterday, none, and I wondered why the dead didn't wonder up here. AJ slowly opened the door, and when he saw nothing he stepped outside and I quickly followed. The sun was already starting to come up, giving off a pink and orange hue. Then AJ and I split he went left and I went right. Slowly creeping close to the trailer wall, I round the first corner, nothing. I start walking again and I am about to round the other corner when I hear it, a moan. Okay, where is it? I continue listening. It's coming from around the corner, and I don't know how close it is. So I inch back in the other direction.

When I get far enough away, I walk away from the trailer a few paces and turn back around. There it is its back is to me and its limping in the other direction. I got a little closer to the ground and walked up behind her. I almost reached her when she turned around. 'Shit' I thought. It jumped on me, I held it back as much as I could, but I felt it getting closer and closer to my face. Just when it was about to bite my face off AJ came up from behind and stabbed it in the back of the head, he then pushed it off of me.

"That was a little close for comfort" he says looking at me. 'at least you had the guts to kill it this time' I thought. "Thanks, and I think we are clear now. Stay out here while I get the wide door open. We should leave now. The sun is almost up" I say and go to get in back in the trailer. When I got inside, I unlock the wide door and the cables help it down quietly once the ramp is up I hop In the Driver seat, Buckle the net back up, and take the keys out of my pocket "we have 14 blocks to go through, then we have the highway" I say to AJ as he jumps over the net and into the razor. "Okay, I will shoot, you focus on driving. You hear?" AJ looks at me; I nod my head once and start the engine. It makes more noise than I remember. I shift into high on the shift stick and we are off.

I drive as fast as I can around the corners of the parking garage. When we get to the 1st floor, it was a straight shot to the exit, but three zeds blocked the door. I couldn't slow down, as the undead were chasing us. "AJ!" I scream over the loudness of the engine. He pulls out his pistol as we are fast approaching the being's BOOM, BOOM, and BOOM. Three perfect head shot's. It was a little bumpy for a split second. I turned left and pressed all the way down on the throttle. 1, 2, 3 we were zooming by all of the buildings, weaving in and out of the dead looking cars. We made it onto the highway no issue. But we weren't out of the park yet. We still have 260 miles of highway to cover and all of the obstacles in between.

About fifteen minutes later we heard screaming and I slowed down a little. "We should help them. There is nothing around."I say. My heart aching for whoever was being hurt." Fine." AJ said. I slow all the way to a stop and turn off the Razor and stuff the Keys in my pocket. I then pull out my knife and jog over to the scene, AJ close on my heels. It was horrible, there were 2 Zed and they had done a lot of damage. The man was the one screaming, one of the zombies was eating is stomach. I will never be able to unseen that. The second zombie was banging on the car. OH MY GOD! I could hear the faint sound of a baby crying. I immediately went over to the zombie on the ground and stabbed it in the head, and AJ killed the one banging on the car. I look at the man with his insides spilling out of him. Sympathy filled my eyes. "please, kill me.!"The man said. I almost refused, but then I imagined how much pain he was in. I knelt down next to him and said"I'm so sorry." As I slid the knife in to his head. I stood up and turned to the car. AJ was watching me. In the car was a lady, She opened her car door and I immediately saw the bit marks on her neck and right arm."Thank you, so much!" she said sounding weak with tears in her eyes.

The baby crying could still be heard. The woman looked back at the baby and said" I am not long for this world. Can you please take my boy? His name Is Bryce, And I want him to survive this, whatever it is" she sighed a painful sigh and said" he is 5 months old." She drew a shaky breath and continued "I know it's a lot to ask, but …"AJ interrupted her "we will take him, don't worry we will protect him with our life's"

The woman sighed with relief then turned and started digging through her purse. Her hand emerged with a photo of her and the man I just killed, and a pen. She started writing on the back of the picture. "Please give this to him if he ever asks about us. Tell him that we loved him." She said, then handed me the picture with a shaky hand and said" his diaper-bag is back there next to him. It has everything he needs in there. Thank you." she said. She then stood up and opened the door and unbuckled the car seat. "shhh , baby, you're going to be safe now."She said looking at Bryce for the last then gave Bryce to AJ. And then handed him the bag with his stuff in it.

"He is safe now, I promise." I say to the woman, as I put a hand on her shoulder. The woman started crying as we walked away. When we got back to the razor AJ took Bryce out of the car seat and handed him to me. "Take him while I strap his seat to the back." He said to me, and walked to the back to do that. I look down at Bryce; it's the first time I get a good look at him. He is tiny; he has big green eyes and short curly blond hair, a short nose and a thin mouth. Adorable. AJ goes around to his side of the Razor and unbuckles the net. He puts the Diaper bag between his feet, and says okay bring him here.

I walk around the Vehicle and hand the Beautiful Baby Boy to AJ. I buckle AJ's net back up for him then jog back around the Razor and slide into the driver's seat. I buckle the net and put the key in the ignition. I start the Razor and we are off again.

"You did the right thing you know." AJ said as he rocked Bryce to sleep. "What?" I ask, confused. "When you killed that man…. You did the right thing." he replied. "oh." I say, going around an abandoned car.

The rest of the ride was silent except for the occasional coo from Bryce.

When we got to the dirt road that leads to the cabin, Bryce started to wake up. When we reached the cabin, I turned off the Razor. I took the keys and put them in my pocket. "Here take him in and make room for him." AJ said handing me Bryce and his diaper bag. I turn and go to the cabin front door, I pull out the keys again and unlock the door and step inside the living room/kitchen of the 3 room cabin. I walk over to the couch and lay Bryce down. I then open the diaper bag and shuffle through the stuff. I grabbed 2 blankets and rolled one up for a pillow. I set the make-shift pillow behind his head, and then lay a blanket over him. Almost instantly he is asleep. AJ walked through the door with his bag and Bryce's carrier. "You can put him in this…..Oh." AJ said as he sat his bag by the door. He walked over to the couch where I was and set the carrier on the floor next to me. He then left and came back with more stuff and soon everything was in its place, and he had covered the Razor with a camouflage tarp. I look at my watch, 12:24.

"I'm getting kind of hungry." AJ said and stood up from the couch. He went over to the cabinets and grabbed a package of chicken flavored ramen. "Make me some too?" I ask as I dig through Bryce's bag for his formula and bottle. "okay." AJ replied. Once I found the bottle and formula, I grab a bottle of water and pour the water in until it reaches a suitable amount; I then put the correct amount of formula in the bottle and screw the cap on the bottle. I shake it up, and then set it down on the coffee table for when he wakes up. "I'm going to go make a crib thing." I say. "K" AJ says back. I walk into the bedroom and look around.

There are three beds in the room, 2 full beds and a Queen Size bed. I grab the extra blankets and pillows; I set the pillows in a C shape and pull the blanket over it. There, good enough.

I walk back into the main room. Bryce had started crying, And AJ was cooking. I walked quickly over to Bryce and picked him up. I shoved the bottle and he started drinking it. I sat down on the couch and waited for my food to finish while Bryce finished his food. After Bryce was done he went right back to sleep. I went and put Bryce in his make shift crib. I then got to eat my food. "Im going hunting tomorrow." AJ said, looking at his bow. "Okay, then I will stay here with Bryce."I say.

We stayed in the cabin like that for a whole year. Hunting, washing clothes, helping Bryce learn to walk and start talking, cooking, surviving. And everything was good. And everything was right. We hardly ever had any "visitors" and when we did them where easy to take care of. Things changed, my body became a little curvier. Bryce grew a LOT. When he stood up the top of his head reached my knee. His hair was longer. A lot of things were different. I was used to life here, so were AJ and Bryce. That's why when that day came we were scared.

AN: Okay. Maybe not 3000 words but its close! Okay maybe not that close. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Leave reviews on where you want the story to go, because I am still not sure of that myself. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: so, I'm going to try to upload every Wednesday... Also thank you for the follow XXxxlovehurtsxxXX! It means a lot. Anyway here is chapter 3.

It's been around a year since everything happened. I'm now around 16 I think but I'm not sure.

My eyes crack open, sensitive to the light. I then hear Bryce crying. I slowly sit up and rub my eyes. "Bryce, what's wrong?" I call. I stand up and make my way into the main room. I then saw Bryce cradling his foot. He looked up at me with teary eyes and said"toe." I smiled down at him and moved to pick him up. "How did you manage to stub your toe when you can barely walk, silly?" I say as I move to the couch and sit down with him still in my hands. He just stared back at me with those little puppy dog eyes and tears spilled down his face. "Oh don't cry, you will be fine. Okay, now what do you want for breakfast?"I ask when I hear his tummy growl."papples." he said the tears on his face slowing as he forgot about the pain.

"Apples it is buddy."I shift and set Bryce on the couch. I stand and go to the kitchen area and open the cabinet. I grab two apples and a knife, I then set 1 apple to the side since I don't like mine cut up. I pull the cutting board up from the drawer in front of me and I cut the apple into 8 small seedless pieces. I put the knife down when I was done, when and got a small plastic bowl, and put the 8 pieces in it. I picked up my apple and then the bowl, and moved toward the couch. Bryce rose up his hands and moved them in a 'gimmie, gimmie' motion.

I hand him the bowl and he immediately starts eating. I take a bite out of my apple and relax.

I then make a mental check list.  
1: get dressed  
2: clean house  
3: clean Bryce  
4: wash clothes  
5 : AJ comes home  
6: dinner

Okay, let's get moving. "sissy is going to change, okay?" I look at Bryce for his response. He nods and I stand, moving towards the bedroom to change. I take another bite of my apple and chew as I enter the door. I walk over to the dresser and set the apple down on the surface.

I open the drawer and fish out a dark grey t-shirt with the words 'bite me' on it ha! That's ironic. I throw the shirt on the bed and open another drawer. I fish out some black pants, and then throw them on the bed to. I then open a different drawer and grab all of the un-mentionable's I needed. I then close the drawers and grab my apple and take another bite.

I move towards the bed and set my apple carefully down on it. I move to peel my clothes off while I chew on my apple completely undress and begin re dressing once I was done I shoved my dirty clothes into the laundry basket.

I grabbed my apple and walked back into the main room, where Bryce was on his 5th apple slice. I walked over to the only other door in the cabin and opened it. I walked into the bathroom and opened the blinds. I turned and looked in the mirror my hair was pretty puffy today, so I threw it into a tight pony tail. I walked back out of the bathroom and shut the door.

I then move towards the couch and sit down.

About 5 minutes later I had eaten my apple down to its core, and Bryce was just finishing up.

"done." I heard Bryce say. He then proceeds to shove the bowl in my face. I chuckle and say "do you want to help Sissy today?" I look at him expectantly while I take the bowl from his hands. He stares back with his emerald green eyes thinking. Then he nods.

I smile, happy to have him on my side today. Happy that there will be no more crying.

I scoop him up in my left arm while carrying the bowl and my apple core to the sink. I set Bryce down on the counter and take my core out of the bowl. I set the core on the counter, and the bowl in the sink. I pick up Bryce and we go into the bedroom. I set him on the bed while I shuffle through his drawer on the dresser, looking for his baby sling. Once I found it, I wrapped it around my body and then slipped Bryce in he loved using me as a pillow when he got tired and he loved to talk to me while 'we' worked.

"Alright, you ready?"I ask him and I feel his little head nod. I am so grateful that AJ found this thing on a run.

I then walk back into the main room with Bryce on my stomach. I then set out on cleaning the house. I had to be fast since I was going to give Bryce a bath in the creek today. He loves water.

About 3 hours later I was having a 'conversation' with Bryce. This mainly consists of yes and no questions. We had just finished lunch and AJ was due back anytime now.

I moved and grabbed a towel and Bryce's extra clothes. I then grabbed my .22 pistol and strapped it to my left thigh. I then strapped my knife to my right hip.

I walk out the front door of the cabin and took a right. The creek was about ten yards away and the cabin was still visible from where I stood on the creek bed. I set the towel and Bryce's extra clothes on the patch of grass behind me. I then take Bryce out of the sling that is keeping him close to me, and set him near the water. I unwrap the baby sling from my body and set it done net to the towel then take my boots off and roll up my pants.

I undress Bryce so that he is completely naked and wade into the water until it is about to my mid-shin.  
I then gently lower Bryce into the water and begin washing his tiny little body. I have fun with Bryce as we splash around in the water.

About 20 minutes later we wade out of the water. I dry my feet quickly and then proceed to dry Bryce thoroughly. When Bryce is dry I clothe him in his fresh clothes and wrap him back up in the baby sling, where he is very close to me. I strap on my boots and stand.

That is the moment my world turned upside down. In that moment, everything went straight back to shit.

AJ ran up to me, out of breath and he was covered head to toe in zombie blood.  
He looked at me with fear in his eye and said "we have to go, now!"

I learned over the past year not to question AJ. He knew what he was doing.  
I adjusted the baby sling so that I could run in it, without hurting Bryce. I grabbed Bryce's dirty clothes and forgot about the towel. We were leaving. We didn't need it.

I ran back to the house, and quickly went inside. "Do you still have a completely packed bag?" AJ asked, as he searched for the Razor keys. "Yea, but I need to get some of Bryce's stuff ready. How long do we have?" I ask. "We HAVE to be out of here in 10 minutes. There is a huge pack headed our way." He said. He found the keys and ran out the door.

I ran into the bedroom and threw my pack next to the door. I then grabbed Bryce's backpack, it had stars on it and it was bigger that his diaper bag. I quickly stuffed some of his clothes into the bag. I grabbed the blanket he always uses and stuffed that in there too. I handed Bryce his tiny stuffed 'Elle the elephant'  
and shoved formula in his bag. I grabbed the photo his mother gave us and put that in there too. His bottle was in the bag in two seconds flat. I then shoved a bunch of diapers in there. And as much dry fruit that I could fit and zipped up his bag.

I then walk over to my bag and latch his on to mine. I throw the bag on my back and I was out the door. I jogged up to the shed we kept the Razor in and opened the door. When I did I heard the beast stalling.

I was saddened by the realization that we would have to leave her here."AJ, give up, we have to go. NOW!" I say when he tried to turn the engine over another time. He looked at me with sad eyes and jumped out of the Razor. He then released his bag from the roof of the vehicle and strapped it on himself.

He nodded and I turned out the door. I waited for AJ, and let him lead. He knew where 'they' where and he knew where to go. "This way" he said and then took off. I quickly followed not wanting to get left behind.

"Tired" I heard Bryce say sleepily. And then he fell asleep after getting used to the up and down motion of my running.

I felt like we were running for hours, but in reality it was probably only around 20 minutes.

I was out of breath and had to stop."AJ" I called out. He slowed down to a walk and turned around. "You have to stop already? You used to be able to run for about 20 minutes longer." He stated in confusion.

I look at him angrily "I have a sleeping baby on my chest, dummy." He looked at me thinking for a minute then he looked around listening for danger. When he deemed it safe, he said"5 minutes"

I sat down carefully, so I didn't wake up Bryce. While I was sitting I grabbed a water bottle, and took a drink from it. I then look at AJ and offer him the bottle. He looked at me and took the bottle out of my hand. He took a giant swig of the water and then handed it back to me. I quickly put the water back up and relax as much as I can.

While I sit here I think about the situation. We will have to start taking shifts. We aren't safe anymore.  
I start to feel weird. Shit I got used to the feeling of security. That's not really a good thing.

AJ stood and I took that as signal we needed to start moving again so I stood as well. He looked at me as if to say 'are you ready?' and I nod. We set off again, but this time at a slower pace .we continued like this until about an hour before sunset.

When we stopped this time AJ. Started to gather wood and settle down for the night. I set Bryce and my backpack down. Bryce had woken up around two hours ago was getting hungry. Tonight was going to be cold. I grabbed Bryce's formula, bottle, blanket, and a diaper.i set my supplies down, and then wiped a pile of leafs away. I then unwrapped the baby sling and folded it into a baby changing table type thingy. I lay Bryce down, and change his I am done with that, I chunk the diaper into the woods then give Bryce his bottle and wrap him up in the blanket.

I grab my blanket from my back pack and wrap it around my body. I didn't realize how tired I was until AJ told me that he would take first watch. I then nodded and lay down next to Bryce. I curl around Bryce and then I am fast asleep.

I'm shaken awake by AJ. "Get up we are leaving in 30 minutes when it's bright outside." What?!"What the hell, did you stay up all night?"I ask, angry that he would do this to himself. He looked at me "well, duh." he said. I didn't get to ask why because Bryce had woken up crying. I shushed Bryce and fed him a bottle. "AJ, why would you do that to yourself? You know that is harmful to your body." I state matter-a-factly

"You seemed like you needed sleep." He threw back. He knew that he shouldn't lie to her, but it was for her own good.

"Fine, but I am taking first watch tonight."I say. I then quickly wrap Bryce's sling around me and then secure him in it. I then pack up Bryce's blanket, and formula leaving the bottle out for Bryce to finish.

I then put my blanket up and zip up the pack. It's not quite morning yet so me and AJ sit and wait for daylight and Bryce to finish his bottle off. Once Bryce was done I looked at my watch.7:13. I then pack up Bryce's bottle, while AJ stomps out the fire. We then begin walking.

After a long while of walking I look at my watch, 10:27.

Not 10 minutes after I look at my watch we find a road. Yes! A path to follow. When we step onto the asphalt we hear the moans of the undead. I turn my head to the right, where the sound is resonating from.

There aren't that many. I count 12. Then I look down at Bryce who looks right back up at me with those eyes! "Don't worry buddy you are safe." I tell him quietly. Then he snuggles close to me. I tighten the sling for fighting. Then I grab my knife in my right hand and my gun in my left. AJ looks at me as he ready's to fight as well. "It's quite convenient that you are ambidextrous" AJ says to me.

I nod, looking at the zed. They are all staggered out, easy.

I look at AJ and then we run towards the non-living creatures. I kick one in the knee from behind and then slam the knife in his head. One. I then yank the knife out and aim my gun towards the closet zed to me. I fire the gun, and earn a headshot. Two. I then move towards another.

I then smash his head in with the butt of my pistol and then shoot him in the head. three. I move to the next one. As I am walking towards it, I just shoot it in the head too. Four. I then go to the next target and smash the knife into its skull. Five, I'm about to move towards the next one when I realize there are no more. I holster the gun and pistol, and look down at Bryce. "You okay buddy?"

He looks up at me and nods. I smile down at him.

That's when I noticed the car. And even more interesting the people getting out of the car. There was a woman, two men, and a boy around my age. When did they show up? I was immediately on guard as was AJ.

The woman stepped a little closer to us while the boy whispered something in one man's ear.  
"Hello, my name is Maggie, and we were going to help you but it seems you got it under control." She said with a smile.

I instantly made an opinion. I liked Maggie. When neither I nor AJ spoke she continued. "Well we might as well introduce ourselves. This is glen, my husband." she said pointing at an Asian man. "And that's rick and his son, Carl." she said pointing at the other man and the boy. "Nice to meet you…."

AJ spoke first"AJ" he said, providing his name. Then everybody looked at me."Melody. And this is Bryce." I say. Maggie beamed, happy about something yet I don't know what.

Glen spoke next. "Listen, we have set up camp at a prison not too far from here. You are welcome to join us if you want. I mean it's as safe as it can get there." I look at AJ. And he nods. He trusts these people to. speaks"ok, we have nowhere to go anyway."

It was the man named rick that spoke next. "Before we leave I have 3 questions I need to ask you." He says. So this is the catch.3 questions. "Okay."I say. We really have nowhere else to go.

Rick turns to AJ and asks "how many walkers have you killed?" AJ was silent for a moment" more then I can count." He replies "how many people have you killed?" rick asks. "None" my brother says. "Why?" Rick asks. "To survive."

Then rick turn to me "how many walkers have you killed?" he asks. And I am silent. "Including those?" I ask jabbing my thumb behind me, gesturing to the dead. Rick raises an eyebrow" Yes, including those." Rick says. "Six" I say without hesitation.

AN: thank you sooooooo much for reading! I'm going to Boston tomorrow but I will be back in four days, writing chapter four! Have a great day!

~Foxgirl113


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I am soooo sorry! I totally forgot to tell you about my trip to Stanford University! Any who I just got back and again I am so sorry!

I stared at this strange girl wide eyed. How the hell is she alive if she's only killed six walkers? It's been a whole year. Dad looked at her like she was crazy and said "how many people have you killed?" Melody, I think she said her name was, turned and looked at AJ. He nodded and she then looked my father straight in the eye. "I honestly don't know." She said. Her eyes went dark, like she was remembering something she didn't want to.

"Why/" my dad asked. She looked down at the child in her hands then back up at my dad and said "because I had to."

My dad nodded and said. "Well you are welcome to come back to the prison with us. I'm sure people would enjoy another baby around." Melody looked at my dad in an emotion I would assume is shock.

She quickly gathered herself when her brother started walking towards them and followed.

"Where are we going to sit?" AJ asked.

"Well, you could sit in the back." I offered. They seemed to accept that and went around the car and got in back of the van.

I am surprised they took my answer. Me being a killer doesn't seem to affect them.  
Oh well, im just happy we found another sanctuary so soon.

When we got to the prison there were many things that surprised n=me. Like the fact they had a farm. I look down at Bryce happy that he is safe. I look around and the people look at us like we are candy, when me and AJ climb out of the car. The people gather around in groups and whisper. It makes me uncomfortable, and I feel out of place.

Rick walks up behind AJ and says" my son Carl will show you where you will be staying." AJ nods and the boy I would assume is Carl steps in front of us. "You guys are getting separated; I hope your okay with that." He looks like he is on guard. Like we were going to attack him after he said that.

"Okay" is all I say and AJ nods. Carl sighs in what I would assume is relief. He turns and starts walking, so we follow." You guys will be staying in B wing. The boys and girls are separated in there. So Bryce will have to stay with his big brother."

We stop walking outside of a building that had "B-WING" written on it. Carl looked at us then continued walking, and entered the building. AJ and I followed, when we got inside I looked around. What I saw was a two story prison block. In the middle of the room was a stair case that leads to the second floor. There where cells on both walls." The girls are on the second floor, boys on the first..." Carl said as he walked over to a cell that had B110 over the door. "This is where AJ and Bryce will be."

I carefully unwrap Bryce and give him to AJ. "I will give you Bryce's diaper bag later." I say to AJ. "Feel free to explore today. Get settled, but tomorrow you have to report to A-wing for your work assignment." Carl said. Well it makes sense that you have to contribute here.

"Come on." Carl's says when he looks at me. He turned on his heel and started for the stairs. I readjusted my bag and trailed behind him. We went up the stairs and took a right, once we reached a 'fork in the road' Carl took a left and went down about five cells, then stopped I front of the cell that read B204. "This is your room from now on." Carl said to me. I looked at him as I stepped inside the cell. Carl stood in the doorway. I look at Carl curious of something. "Why haven't you guys taken our weapons?" I ask.

Carl shrugs" I don't know, I guess my dad see something in you guys." I take my bag off and set it against the wall. Carl stands at eye level with me and speaks. "Can I ask you a question?" I look at him expectantly. "How have you only killed six walkers?" he asks. I hesitate, because I don't think he will believe me." We lived in the middle of the woods for almost year before it got overrun. We were lucky that we got out in time. My brother is the one who always went out. I stayed with Bryce."

"Hmm" Carl hummed. "Well just make sure you report to A-wing for your assignment tomorrow." He said with kind eyes and then turned away. Leaving the cell barren.

I turn to look at the bunk bed. I decide that I'm going to sleep on the top bunk.  
I turn to my bag and unzip it. Taking the pictures I have and stick them under the mattress on the top bunk. I then leave my pistol under my pillow and stick my knife in its holster while removing the gun holster from my thigh.

I lay the holster down on the bottom bunk. I don't unpack much. I don't know how long we will stay here. Then I decide to explore. I grab Bryce's Diaper bag and shut the cell door behind me. I then go down the stairs and enter AJ's cell. It was similar to mine except this one had a makeshift crib on the bottom bunk.

"Here Im going to explore." I say to AJ as I hand him the diaper bag. I walk over to where Bryce is in the crib and kiss his forehead. "Love you buddy." I say and then I leave the cell. I walk over to the open door that we first entered from and walk out of it.

I look around and walk over to this gazebo type of area. I t had food and water stores there. This must be where everyone eats. To the left of me is the A-wing. I keep that in mind for tomorrows then walk around the corner of that building and there is a strip of pavement between the wall and the fence. At the end of the walkway is a tower, but this one seems unused. So I open the door, and enter. I close the door behind me and climb the spiral stairs.

When I reach the top I am in a circular room with Glass on all sides of the room. There was a door to the wrap around balcony of the tower. When I walked out on the balcony I noticed something different about this tower. There was a narrow path with a fence on it that connected it with the roof.

I didn't even notice this from the ground. In order to get to the roof I have to climb over the railing and cut through the fence. I smiled as I carefully climbed over the railing. I slowly walkup to the fence and cut through it. Once I got on the other side of the fence I had to climb the 5 ft. wall to the roof.

When I got to the top, the first thought that came to my head was 'this is my place.' And it was.

I stayed up here long enough to make a like shelter out of the things I found up here. The roof of my little hut was a tattered blanket. It had two walls, the hut was up against a chimney made of metal and that gave the hut two walls. The little shelter didn't have any furniture, but I can change that over time.

When I finally left the roof, the sun was setting. I glance down at my clock, 7:26. Alright.

I asked a woman named carol, if they had showers and she showed me where the where. She also gave me a towel and said "this is the only towel you are going to get." I nodded and took a shower. When I got back to my room in fresh cloths and with my hair clean, I hung my towel up on a towel rack and looked at my door. I didn't want people seeing me change in the future so I took the bottom bunks sheet and hung it over the door. When I opened and closed the door it didn't fall. Satisfied with the day, I went to bed.

I hate nightmares.

Absolutely hate them.

But they love me. I've been having them since mom died, and I've gotten used to them.

I bolted upright from my sleep and look at my watch.4:36. There is no point in going back to sleep.

I sit up in bed and lift the edge of the mattress and take out a picture of my family from when I was three.  
I wish mom was here.

I shake the saddening thoughts from my head and put the picture back. I carefully climb down to the floor. When my feet plant on the ground I turn and open my backpack. I grab a dark grey tattered oversized t-shirt, a clean pair of black boy short underwear, a black bra, a pair of super ripped skinny blue jeans, and a light grey beanie.

I strip all of my clothes off and pile them on the bottom bunk. I then re-dress into the clean clothes, and then I sit down and pull my combat boots on, and lace them up.

I then re-strap my knife on my hip. I stand up and wonder what to do to kill time.

My feet start moving on their own, and I end up in front of cell B110. I walk into the open cell and look down at Bryce. My heart swells with love. I smile down at the beautiful baby boy, then AJ stirs in his sleep. I turn and walk out of the cell; I end up outside walking past the gazebo. I turn down the path to the tower. When I open the door it creaks softly.

I went up the winding staircase, out onto the balcony, over the railing, through the fence and over the wall. I made my way over to my "shelter" and sat down.

The sky was absolutely stunning.

As I sat there my mind drifted to a morning just like this around 5 years ago.

 _I was 11. I got a call from my father._

 _It was around 3:30 in the morning and I was in a café. I was expecting a call. Then my phone rang._

 _I look down and the screen read"_ dad" _I answered and said "yeah?"_

" _You have a job._ Jason stubblefield _age: 32 he was last seen 3 miles from you at a strip club. His wife made the call" he chuckled "you have until six to eliminate the target. The pay is healthy, so don't screw this up. And cover your tracks."_

 _The line went dead._

 _Being little had its advantages when you are a contract killer. People under estimate you. I always cared a Dora the explorer backpack that had many weapons in it._

 _I get out of the booth I was sitting in and leave ten bucks for the juice that I was sipping on._

 _I walk out of the small diner and look around, it was 3:30 in the morning but Atlanta was still buzzing with people. I turn left and walk to the stop light and press the cross walk button. A crowd starts to gather at the stoplight. When the walk sign turns on the little group walks across the street in unison. This repeats two more times before I arrive at the strip club._

 _When I walk up to the door a burly man stops me. "Whoa there little one, you can't go in there. There are some things you don't understand." He said with kind eyes. I could tell by reading his micro expressions that he has kid of his own._

" _But mister, my papa is in there and mama said if he doesn't come home by 8:00 she is leaving us…forever. I don't want mama to leave! Besides. I already know what's behind those doors." I look down on the last part. When I look back up the man looks torn. After a moment he hesitantly says "alright go on in." and lets me through._

 _In that moment my phone buzzes, when I open the message it's a photo of a man. the bottom of the picture reads 'stubblefield'. Alright! Now we got a face to the name._

 _I look around and spot him .then I look around for a vulnerable 'dancer'. I spot one and remember seeing an ally on the way in. I walk up to the dancer and point out the target. I say "that's my daddy, he left after he had a fight with momma. He won't answer any of her calls and now she won't stop crying. Can you get him to meet me out in the ally? But don't tell him it's me or he won't come!"_

 _The woman looks at me with sad eyes and nodded. she walked away from me and I turned and went toward the ally door. When I got to the ally I took off my backpack and unzipped it I started screwing a suppressor on my pistol. When I was ready I stepped into the shadows._

 _When the door opened again, the man stumbled out. He had a huge smile on his face, like he won some prize. He looked around and when he saw no one he looked confused._

 _I choose that moment to step out of the shadows._

 _He looked even further confused when he saw me._

 _I pointed the gun at his forehead. When I did this his eyes widened, and he looked panicked._

…

 _Then I shot him. His dead body dropped to the ground._

 _I unscrewed the suppressor from my gun and put it back in my bag I then pulled a black hoodie and pulled it over my head. I zipped my bag back up and pulled the hood over my head.i walked out of the ally and turned right…._

When I finally snapped out of it the sun was In the sky. I looked down at my watch and it read, 8:27.

Shit. I scramble to my feet and jog to the wall. I jump down and squeeze through the fence. I hop over the railing and practically sprint down the stairs and bust out the door. I jog until I get about five feet from the wall. And slow to a walk. Good I don't think anyone saw me.

I turn the corner and manage to get to A-wing unnoticed. When I walk in it looks like im the last one there.

"There you are!" Carol says. "Sorry, I woke up late." I lied.

She smiled at me and said" that's quite alright."

"Okay, so today you will be getting your work assignments. From what I can tell you guys will be very useful to the prison." Carol says. "so, tell me what you would like to do here and I will see what I can do."

I look over at AJ. He is looking down at Bryce and says" I would like to help with the children."

Wow. Never thought that was something I would ever hear.

Then I look back over at carol and she seems happy with that response. She nods and then turns to me.  
"What about you?" she asks me. I think for a second. "I would like to go on runs." I say. I look carol dead in the eye when I say this. For a split second she looked irritated. "Well you will have to take that up with rick, but even if he lets you go on runs, which I doubt he will, you would need a job in the mean time.

I thought some more and came up with "cleaning duty." Now it was my brothers turn to be shocked. He of all people knew I HATE cleaning. Seriously, if I could avoid it I would. But I had a reason for wanting to be on cleaning duty. More exploration.

Then carol nodded at me. "That can be done."Then she turned to AJ who seemed to recover from the shock and said "you will need to report to Beth. She is a bit younger than you but she's in charge of the children." Carol turned to look behind her and pointed to a blond girl who looked around 18 years old. And she was really pretty. 0

AJ stood up and walked over to Beth and started a conversation. I looked back at carol when she cleared her throat. "You are going to report to me." I nod." alright. You get two rest days every week. Wednesday, and Saturday. Your responsibilities as a cleaner are, laundry, cleaning the kitchen after lunch and over all hygiene of everybody, meaning when someone tells you they are out of soap or anything of that matter you get a replacement by the next morning. I will teach you everything you need to know today, but by tomorrow you will know your duties like the back of your hand. Got it?" she explains.

I nodded and she stood from where she was leaning on the table. "Follow me" I stood and followed her. We walked over to a cell that was close by. There was sheet over the door when carol opened the door she walked in, and I followed. What I saw was amazing. The whole cell was filled floor to ceiling with soap, toothpaste, deodorant, feminine products, shampoo/ conditioner, and toilet paper.

"Whoa." was all I could say. Carol smiled at me and put her hand on a cart. It looked like one of those housekeeping carts you would find at hotels. It was stocked with everything to. "This is your best friend." Carol said. "Every morning you will wake up at six and you will come grab this and start your rounds. Here, I will show you how to do it. I hope you aren't shy." Carol smiled

She pushed the cart out of the cell and when I was out all well she shut the door. This way. She pushed the cart down about 3 cells. "Laundry." She said when the cart pulled to a stop. The cell door opened and a black woman held clothes in her hand. She walked past the cart and dumped her things in the cloth basket. "Good morning, Michonne." Carol said "morning." She replied. When her eyes landed on me the softened for a second then hardened again. She nodded and I nodded back. She seemed to approve. Then she drifted away.

This went on for about 20 or 30 minutes. I met everyone that lived on the bottom floor. Of the 2 occupied cell blocks. Everyone on the second floor dumps their clothes in a basket at the bottom of the stairs.

Once we had all of the laundry, carol wheeled the cart outside to the gazebo. "Now you wash everything." She stated simply. then filled the bottom of an old bathtub with about a two inch layer of water and she adds about two table spoons of liquid soap to the water and dumps all of the clothes in. she then starts to wash the clothes. "wait." I say, a little confused." Where do we rinse the clothes?" I ask. "You are pretty smart Melody." She stands and points to a little creek that runs through the prison yard."Over there, but we wash the clothes first then carry them all down there in this." She holds up a different basket. When we were done washing all of the clothes about an hour later. Carol says "we use the same soap water for the next two loads, so every 3 days we have to drain the tub. ' I nod, saying that I understand.

After we rinse all of the clothes, we hang them up to dry. "Well, we are done with laundry about 2 hours early. Keep in mind this will take longer when you are doing it on your own . Anyway, meet me back here in 2 hours when the clothes are dry." Carol says and turns to go do something else. Not knowing what to do I start walking towards the roof. When I was walking down the path I looked out on the field and saw Carl and rick working on the farm in the heat. I slow my pace staring at Carl. He's interesting, a strange one. That's when he looked up and caught me staring.

He smiled at me and waved. It wasn't a huge wave, just a small one. I smiled and waved back.

I didn't go to the roof. But I did sit around in the tower. I left around two hours later and meet carol by the now dry clothes. Once we got them all folded she laid them out on the table in the gazebo, she organized them by size. "Usually you will have to eat lunch then clean the kitchen then come out here and fold these. But on days when two cleaners are working this will happen. By the way, that reminds me of Natalie. she is the other cleaner. She just got here about 2 weeks ago." Carol explained. "You guys will be working together on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays. So you will meet her tomorrow." Carol says.

By the time we got done folding it was lunchtime.

After we got done eating, carol met me in the kitchen and told me how to clean it.

After that was done she said. "easy. Right?"

I nod. "Good, I'm glad you are here. After you have done all of this you are free to do as you please.  
"Actually rick and Carl finish their work after lunch. So I think you can go talk to rick if you want." Carol said to me.

"Thanks" I say.

I leave the kitchen and make my way into the cafeteria. When I spot rick he is sitting with a group of people.

I walk up to the empty seat and sit down. I look around the table and recognize all of the people exept for one man. He looks gruff. He is wearing a leather jacket and there is a crossbow leaning against his seat. To his right is Glenn, and next to Glenn is Maggie. To the man's left was Michonne and next to her was rick. Everyone was looking at me.

I turn to rick and take a deep breath. I look him dead in the eye "Can I go on runs? I feel as if I would be a great asset to the team." I say.

Everyone at the table looked shocked. The man I didn't know was the first to make a sound. He started laughing. "She can't be serious! Look at her! She would die in three seconds! Sorry kiddo, but go ahead and keep dreaming." he said. When it finally got silent again I responded with. "You know, you really shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I could take you down in three seconds flat."

This seemed to piss the man off. "Think you're being a little cocky there kid. You wanna put that theory to the test?" the man said. I looked at him and he seemed serious enough. "Daryl." Maggie warned.  
so his name is Daryl. I stood from my seat. Then I look him with my most serious expression. "Gladly."

I can't STAND cocky little brats like this one. I mean who she think she is. Michonne was walking with me outside to where the "fight" would take place. "Just don't hurt her to bad. OK?" she said. I nod.

I took my place on the pavement. "So I am going to assume this is a fist fight." The little brat said  
"sure is." I say a little annoyed. She then takes a knife out of its sheath and throws it off to the side. I get into a fighting stance and ready myself for a stupid move.

"Ready." Michonne starts the countdown. The brat gets into a stance..

"Set."

"GO!"

No one moved an inch. What? Usually, the young ones sprint at you as soon as they can. This immediately set off alarms. This one was different. My confusion must have shown on my face because the brat smirked.

Then she vanished "what the hell?" was all I got out before I blacked.

"GO!"

I didn't move all. The confusion on his face was amusing. Then I went at him. I was trained to run faster than the normal human can see, but it takes a lot of energy and you can only do this in small bursts I hear a "what the hell?" before I chopped the back of Daryl's neck right on a nerve ending, causing him to black out.

I turn and look at Michonne who look like she saw a ghost. "Don't worry he will wake up in an hour or two." I say. She just nods slowly. Then I find Rick in the crowd. "So?" I ask expectantly.

"First, you should get used to life here ask me in about 2 weeks.

"alright." I say.

At this point people start to wonder off. By the end of the day, everyone was staring at me where ever I went. There were always whispers. Where ever I went…..

AN: / omg. Sorry for to OOC-ness but you know. Anyway. Leave a comment about what you think or even what you want Natalie to be like. Also, you will get to see more of Melody's past. And even why she became a contract killer over the course of the story. THANK YOU FOR READING! XD


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